Ptesis tes Psyches
by Lanane
Summary: ToS2. As a single flap of the butterfly's wing has the power to change the world forever, so too did the death of an insignificant parasite. As Emil laments his role in Aster's death, he finds reprieve in the form of the wayward Heroes of Time. ToP cameo.


A/N: I hate author's notes; they're too distracting. So, this is the only one you'll see in this version of the story. If, however, you want to read my ramblings, insights, and bad jokes, I advise that you read the version posted on my deviantART account (click the homepage link in my profile).

Thank you, and happy reading. :)

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Three stone monuments pierced through the darkened horizon as Emil made his way over the grassy landscape. The obelisks glowed faintly in the light of the newly risen moon, providing an eerie, but captivating sight for any visitor that came upon them. Emil took them in for a moment, recalling all of the dark memories that had been attached to the place, but then moved on; the Otherworldly Gate was not the reason for his visit.

Instead, he wandered to another trio of stones, these much smaller and far less ornate. Emil kneeled before the stones and laid a small bouquet before the first, reading the inscription: _Those who lost their lives to the Vanguard – You will always be remembered._

Emil then placed another bundle of flowers next to the second memorial, whose inscription read, _Richter Abend – A man whose strength continues to protect this world._ Emil felt a little strange that Lloyd had created a grave for a man that was still alive, but he knew that it was still necessary. Richter was to remain in the Ginnungagap for 1000 years, the maximum amount of time allotted in any elf or half elf's lifespan. Even if he lived until the end of his sentence, he would only die shortly after. Emil hated to think about it, but this place was where Richter's life, his life of freedom anyway, ended.

All that was left now was the last empty grave. Emil placed the remaining flowers before it, but was hesitant to even look at it. He already knew what the inscription said: _Aster – A loyal friend and inspirer of change._ It annoyed Emil a little that Lloyd had gone ahead and carved the inscription without bothering to learn Aster's surname, but such technicalities were not the reason for his reluctance.

Aster… it all started with him. All the senseless killings in Palmacosta, Luin, Flanoir, they were all spurred on because Aster was killed. The hellish world they all were forced to endure was formed because Emil had murdered Aster. Of course, it had been Ratatosk's personality that had committed the atrocity, but Emil didn't feel any less at fault.

It was all that he thought about when he was alone, and sometimes when he wasn't. Marta was starting to notice his poorly concealed lapses into depression, and he could only say, "No, I'm fine, really," so many times before Marta would finally call him out. That was why he came without her that night, why he told her he was "going for a walk" when he left the hotel room in Altamira, why he didn't tell her where he was going. Of course, his "walk" had taken well over an hour, and it would take him just as long to return. Which meant Marta would be pissed when he finally got back.

It didn't matter. He could deal with her tantrums later, but now… He couldn't let her see him in the stare he was quickly slipping into, see the remorse, the regret, the self-loathing that was now clouding his vision, building up until it cascaded from the corners of his eyes.

Emil hated himself even more for crying. He knew that it was pointless, that tears would change nothing. He had done all he could, but it still wasn't enough. If only he could turn back time and undo everything that Ratatosk had done, he could make everything right. But Emil knew that no matter how much courage he had, certain dreams were just beyond realization.

As if to accentuate his tumultuous emotions, a howl sounded in the distance. It was Podsol the Orion, the monster companion that had been by Emil's side even longer than Marta had. And in all that time that they had spent together, Emil had gotten rather good at telling what each of the beast's howls meant. This particular one put Emil on edge; Podsol was signaling danger, or at the very least, something to be wary of.

Emil quickly wiped the tears from his face as a faint rustling sounded to his left. When he looked up, he was met with the sight of a red clad figure, bent at the waist in a bow. The creature could easily have passed as a human woman, if not for the fact that she floated two or three inches above the ground.

"Master Emil," the Fenia greeted in her breathy voice. Emil really hated that she always addressed him so formally, but she insisted that even though he was no longer bonded to Ratatosk, she still thought of him as her master. In fact, she said that the dozen or so monsters that had chosen to stay with Emil, the ones that hadn't mastered human speech as she had, shared her same sentiments.

Emil took a deep breath, trying to clear his mind as he pushed himself to his feet. "What's wrong, Solano?"

The bird-woman straightened, causing her to tower over her so-called master. "Podsol has encountered a group of travelers. So far, they have not engaged him in battle, but they appear strong, and he fears that they may try to provoke him."

Emil groaned, but it was half-hearted; he was very much in need of a distraction. "If he's so worried about getting pulled into a fight, why doesn't he just run away?"

Solano closed her eyes, concentrating on relaying Emil's question to the wayward wolf. Emil didn't know exactly how this communication link was carried out, whether it was through telepathy or a sound frequency that his ears were not sensitive enough to pick up, or if it was something else entirely. He had asked Solano about it before, but she didn't seem to understand what he was talking about. Nevertheless, within a few seconds, Podsol howled out his response.

Solano opened her eyes as she directed her attention back toward Emil. "He feels compelled to continue observing them, though he does not state why. Shall I go investigate myself?"

Emil shook his head. "No, I'll go. I'm sure they'll be less likely to attack if they see me rather than you or Podsol. Just stay out of sight, and tell Podsol the same."

"Yes, Master Emil." Solano bowed once more and teleported away.

Emil sighed and walked in the direction of Podsol's howls. What had the Orion found so interesting about these people? Of course, it was a little strange for anyone to be on the island, especially this late. There were no ferries that came out this far, which made Emil wonder how the travelers had even arrived. Maybe that was what Podsol had been interested in.

It wasn't long before Emil spotted a small camp fire, along with six people of varying ages huddled around it. They were discussing something, and although Emil wasn't one to eavesdrop, he couldn't help but stop and listen.

One of the six, a man with tattooed arms, held a map as he scratched his head. Well, I don't think this is Fenrir because there's no ice, and Odin should be in a desert so…"

"But that's just what it's like now. I mean, in the future," a girl with a pink ponytail chirped. "I'm sure the climate's changed since then—I mean, now, like after Comet Samier or something."

A boy with blue hair next to her sighed. "Wouldn't it just be easier to ask someone from this timeline?"

Emil held his breath. The way these people were talking, it sounded like they were from the future. Which would mean they could time travel. Which would mean…

"Why don't we ask him?"

Emil froze as he realized the blond girl who had just spoken was referring to him. He cursed at himself for not trying to hide himself properly.

The boy next to the girl stood and placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. "You're not a bandit, are you?"

"N-no!" Emil stammered, "Of course no—"

"There doesn't appear to be to be anyone with him."

Emil spun around to see the sixth member of the group, a young girl, standing behind him. How did she…?

"Can you tell us where we are?" the man with the map asked.

Emil turned back to the main group, all of whom were staring at him intently. It made him feel a little uneasy, but at least the swordsman had removed his hand from his sword. "Uh… Well, um, this is the Otherworldly Gate…"

The group exchanged confused glances. Then the pink-haired girl cleared her throat. "What we mean is, what country are we in?" she clarified.

"Well, I guess this is considered Tethe'allan territory."

The six of them –the youngest had snuck back in without Emil even seeing her—stared at him in shock. The blond girl brought a hand to her mouth. "We're on one of the moons?!"

"No!" Emil shouted. This was proving more difficult that he imagined. "But, I guess we did call our moon Tethe'alla… and the Tethe'allans called theirs Sylvarant. But that was before the worlds were joined."

They continued to stare at him as if he were insane. "Just tell us what year it is," the blue haired boy demanded.

So they _were_ time travelers. "It's 4006," Emil responded, hoping that the interrogation would end soon and that he would be able to ask his own questions.

The tattooed man shook his head. "That can't be right. If something like 'world's joining' and countries named after moons happened just two hundred years ago, I think we'd know about it."

Emil blinked. The man was right; it would have to take a _lot_ of time for anyone to forget what had happened two years ago. Time, and a near apocalypse to wipe out the records. But if they were from the distant future, and there _had_ been some kind of horrible disaster somewhere between their times, then it was very possible that the date system changed. Hell, the powers that be were considering changing the current year to 2 to coincide with the joining of the worlds. So how was he supposed to let them know what they wanted to know?

He just had to think of something monumental, something that can't be forgotten, even if historical records are destroyed… And then he thought of something. "Do you know of a mana tree whose spirit goes by the name of 'Martel?'"

"Of course!" the pink-haired girl said "Without it, I wouldn't be able to use my magic."

"Well, that was planted a little over two years ago."

The shocked expressions were back. "Klarth…" the youngest started, "How long ago was Yggdrasill planted?"

The tattooed man whirled around to face the blond girl. "Mint! You sent us back over four thousand years?!"

"I'm sorry! Morrison said that time travel is inexact, especially when going back a larger number of years. Going to your time was easy because I'd been there before, but when you said you wanted to go back to—"

"So you guys are time travelers?" Emil interrupted. He needed to ask them his request before they got too heated in another discussion. Or worse, before they left.

"Yeah," the swordsman responded. He paused a moment, studying Emil's lack of reaction, and then continued, "You know, most people are a little more skeptical when they hear about something like time travel."

Emil smiled. "Well, I've learned to never be surprised by anything. By the way, I'm Emil."

The swordsman nodded. "Cless."

"And I'm Mint," the blond girl added.

The tattooed man tipped his hat. "Klarth F. Lester."

The pink-haired girl saluted. "Arche, at your service!"

"Chester." The blue haired boy waved lazily.

Finally, the youngest bowed. "And I am Suzu Fujibayashi."

Emil did a double take. Fujibayashi? That would have to mean that she was Sheena's descendant. Emil pondered for a moment on who Sheena would end up having a child with. Lloyd? Or maybe Zelos…

"I know we just met," Klarth began, derailing Emil's train of thought, "But we really should be going now. We need to get to the time period we were originally shooting for."

"Wait!" Emil shouted. They couldn't leave, not yet. "Could you please do me a favor first? You see, about two years ago, someone very important to me died here. Actually, I'm here tonight to pay my respects to him. I was wondering if you could help me go back and save him."

Klarth sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose. "Sorry kid, but people die. If we went back and saved everyone important to us, it would mess up the natural order of the world. I know it's hard, but it's just a part of life."

"But you don't understand! Aster was murdered. His friend wanted revenge, and because of that friend, hundreds, no, thousands of people died. This world is still recovering from that. But, if Aster lives, then all of that will be prevented."

Klarth raised an eyebrow. "And were you that friend?"

No, he wasn't. He was the murderer. Emil's head dropped in shame. He felt like he was going to start crying again. "Please," he begged, trying to keep his voice steady.

Soft footsteps brought someone closer to him. Emil looked up and saw Mint's smiling face through misty eyes. "Don't worry," she said gently, "Of course we'll help you."

"Mint!" Klarth protested.

"Emil needs our help, and as a cleric, I can't ignore that. Besides, I'm the only one who can use divine power, so I decide where we go."

Cless nodded. "I agree with Mint."

Klarth groaned. "Come on, we need to go avert a disaster here!"

"And the death of thousands of people is not a disaster?" Suzu asked.

"And besides," Arche added, "It's not like we're going to run out of time to go warn the three countries."

Chester chuckled. "You're outnumbered, Klarth."

Klarth sighed. "Fine. But if there are monsters, you guys are on your own. My pacts don't seem to be valid if I come to a time period before they're made."

Arche grinned. "Oh, I get it. You don't want to do this because you're embarrassed about being dead weight. You just want to go to the three countries' timeline so that you can find the missing summon spirits and not be totally useless!"

Klarth turned red. "That's not it at all! Now let's just go and get this over with!" Klarth stormed off past the group. In the opposite direction of the Otherworldly Gate. It took Emil and the others a while before they could catch up to the angry summoner and turn him around.

Before long, the stone pillars came into view. "Here," Emil said, almost in a whisper. "This is the gate. This is where Aster went two years ago."

Mint nodded. "Is everyone ready?" She closed her eyes and held her staff parallel to the ground. The orb at its tip glowed and the group was engulfed in a dome of light.

Emil felt himself being hurled backward, a sensation that almost made him lose his dinner. Luckily, it didn't last long, as he soon landed rather forcefully on dew covered grass. He looked up, dazed, as he realized that the sun was out. He also saw that he was the only one who didn't manage to stay upright.

"Are you alright?" Suzu asked.

No. Emil was dizzy, nauseous, and his back and pants were wet. "Yeah, I'm fine." He got to his feet and hoped that his body wouldn't betray him by staggering.

Chester was kneeling a few feet from the group, inspecting the grass. "It looks like we got here at just the right time. Two people came through here maybe an hour ago."

Emil brightened. Sure, it worried him that he was an hour behind finding Aster, but he also remembered that Richter wasn't the fastest walker in the world, and that it would be fairly easy to catch up to them. Plus, he already knew how to navigate the Ginnungagap and how to dispose of the monsters, something that would greatly save them time.

Emil sprinted to the center of the three stones and used the sorcerer's ring to open the portal. He turned back to his new friends. "Okay, let's hurry." And with that, they entered the hell that had haunted Emil's mind since he had left it.

The maze below the gate had remained unchanged, but the amount and the strength of the monsters there had greatly diminished. Perhaps the demon's influence in Emil's time had attracted all the beasts he had to battle through to reach Richter. Nevertheless, Emil took a wide berth around the monsters, trying to avoid any time-draining scuffles. Arche was extremely useful in this respect, as she led interested monsters near the edge of the narrow platforms and then used her broom to fly out of reach, allowing the rest of the party to pass safely.

Unfortunately, not all battles were so easily avoided. A Cerberus came barreling out of nowhere straight at Emil. Emil quickly drew his sword, just in time to catch the beast in an uppercut that sent it into the air. Emil followed after it with a barrage of simple, but powerful slashes before he unleashed his artes. "Phoenix Rush! Ravaging Tiger! Roaring Tiger!" Emil landed gracefully out of his aerial assault; the Cerberus landing on its back. The monster roared out in pain before it finally succumbed to its wounds. Emil looked away. He really wished that he could still form pacts with monsters, instead of being forced to kill them anytime they attacked.

"Wow, that was amazing!" Arche exclaimed as she glided next to Emil. "I thought that _I_ was the only one who could stay in the air that long. And you killed it so fast, too!"

Emil shuddered. "I didn't want to kill it, though."

Arche tilted her head. "Huh? But it was trying to kill you."

Emil looked down. "Yeah, but, it was probably just hungry or something. It didn't deserve to die."

"That's rather strange to hear from someone whose sword skills suggest that you've killed many more monsters before this one," Klarth noted. "But if it bothers you so much, then just look on the bright side. Think of all the monsters that will be able to eat tonight because of you, instead of going hungry or getting hurt trying to hunt."

Emil nodded. It didn't make him feel much better, but he could at least acknowledge that there were positives. He sheathed his sword and continued down the path. Mourning a monster's death wasn't going to prevent Aster's.

It wasn't long before the party came upon the corridor where, two years from now, Emil would fight Aqua. It was the last straight path before the gates to the demonic realm, before the place where Ratatosk had been sealed. And they still hadn't found Aster or Richter. Emil dashed down the hall. What if he was too late? No, he couldn't think that. He had come this far, he was going to save Aster. He _had_ to.

Then he started hearing voices. Aster's voice. Emil sighed in relief. He could still make it. And then he saw them, almost within reach. But then he heard the words that made his blood run cold.

"…Nothing more than parasites on this world."

No.

"No, that's not true!"

No, no, no, no, no…

"Humans and half elves are a very important part of this—"

"Silence!"

"_NO!!!_"


End file.
